January 12 ▪ Day 12

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 4:6
Genesis 23–24
Matthew 12
Psalms 12

Verse Focus (Proverbs 4:6)

Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
     love her, and she will watch over you.

Meditation

Welcome! Happy Tuesday. 🙂 (It may not be Tuesday if this is no longer 2021, or if you didn’t start this plan on January 1st… but rejoice in the day whatever day it is for you.)

Proverbs 4:6 talks about how wisdom will protect and guard us. In the book of Proverbs (which we won’t read as a whole until almost half-way through the year), there are a couple of chapters where wisdom is personified as a woman who calls out her invitation to all people. In these chapters, it’s pretty clear that Wisdom is just another name for Christ. And when we think of godly wisdom, Christ really is the source of that understanding. He is, after all, the Word of God — the one who communicates with us. So this verse is also talking about Christ’s protection.

What does it mean to forsake wisdom? When we think of wisdom personified or Christ as Wisdom — well, it’s ignoring them, disregarding what is recommended or commanded, and doing the opposite. But as a quality that we seek, how do we forsake wisdom? I suggest we do that by forgetting to pursue wisdom. I think we forsake wisdom in very ordinary ways, just by going about our daily business. We need to cleave to wisdom, and to always have it as a priority. Always asking ourselves, what would Jesus do?

In Genesis 23 and 24, we have the death of Sarah, the purchase of land for a burial place, and the story of how Isaac gets a wife. As I was re-reading Genesis 23 today, it occurred to me how significant this seemingly prosaic financial transaction actually was. This is the first place in the Promised Land that now actually belongs to Abraham and his descendants. God allows Abraham to own this small snippet of land as a foretaste of the promised inheritance.

The story of Isaac and Rebekah is another one of those familiar stories told to children — a wonderful example of practical, personal prayer and divine guidance. Did you realize that when Abraham’s servant prays for help in identifying a wife for Isaac that this is one of the first examples of private prayer in the Bible? This is particularly interesting because the servant’s name is never mentioned in this passage, and yet his own faith is a beacon of light.

The servant, Eliezar of Damascus (named in Genesis 15), had originally been the one who was to inherit from Abraham. But, instead, Isaac was born as God had promised. And now Isaac needs a wife. I don’t know if Eliezar had ever known that he might inherit from Abraham, but there was no bitterness at the lost inheritance. And it’s clear from Genesis 24 how much Eliezar loves and respects Abraham.

Abraham instructs Eliezar to go back to Abraham’s homeland and to find a wife from among Abraham’s own relatives. I’ve thought about why Abraham was so determined to have his son avoid intermarrying with the Canaanites. He did know that the inhabitants of Canaan would be wiped out in the future because of their wickedness. The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah illustrated some of that wickedness and also showed that the Canaanites had significantly different values than Abraham and his kin did. Perhaps Abraham had received some instructions from God about Isaac’s future wife that isn’t recorded in the Bible. At any rate, Eliezar is sent on a long journey.

Eliezar prays when he arrives in Nahor, and he prays again to thank God when Rebekah is proven to be one of Abraham’s relatives. I thought it was interesting that in both of these prayers Eliezar speaks about God’s kindness to Abraham. Perhaps it was because he thought of the LORD as primarily Abraham’s God; or perhaps, as it seemed to me today, Eliezar was just not as self-centered in his prayers as I often find myself to be.

Eliezar tells his story immediately when he arrives in Bethuel’s household; Bethuel and Laban both agree that they cannot oppose the marriage between Isaac and Rebekah because “this is from the LORD.” Eliezar wants to start on the return journey the very next day, and Rebekah willingly agrees to go. Talk about a whirlwind change! When the LORD sets something in motion, we are often left breathless at the speed of events.

I was particularly touched by the blessing that Rebekah’s family gave her as she left. The translation I read today talked about Rebekah becoming “thousands of myriads.” Not just fruitfulness, but “thousands upon thousands.” They also wished that her offspring would possess the cities of their enemies — an extremely apt blessing for one of Israel’s matriarchs.

Matthew chapter 12 records a number of Jesus’ parables. We also see how Jesus is coming under more criticism from the Pharisees. Some condemn him; others ask for a sign. When he is criticized for breaking the Sabbath, Jesus again quotes the passage from Hosea 6:6, and says that if the people understood what “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” means, then they would not condemn the innocent.

There are some troubling passages in this chapter. Verses 31 and 32 talk about all kinds of sins being forgiven, except for those who “blaspheme” or “speak against” the Holy Spirit. This was a little frightening to me as a young Christian. But I eventually came to interpret these sins against the Holy Spirit as denying the testimony of the Spirit about Jesus Christ. Such a denial makes you incapable of accepting Jesus as your savior, and thus you will perish.

Another alarming section is when Jesus talks about us being judged for “every careless word” we utter (v. 36). From this I understood the seriousness of the Day of Judgment, perhaps for the first time.

The final passage that I used to find extremely disturbing was the description of the unclean spirit who is thrown out of a person, but comes back to find that person “swept clean and put in order” — but then the unclean spirit gathers even more unclean and wicked spirits and they all return. Jesus notes that the final condition of the person is even worse than before. Even though we don’t talk about demons a lot in our society today, when I read this passage, it worried me. It took me some time before I realized that the word “unoccupied” was key. The demon comes back and finds the person “unoccupied.” The person may have been cleansed and healed of the demon originally, but once healed the person did not invite God to take up residence in their heart. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, the house is “unoccupied.”

Our gospel chapter concludes today by Jesus telling us that whoever does the will of the Father in Heaven is kin to Jesus.

As I read Psalm 12 today, I was particularly struck by verse 6. God’s promises are pure, like refined silver, “purified seven times.” Even though the psalmist is talking about God’s word, I couldn’t help but think about our own faith that gets refined and purified through testing. “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10b) and “I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ” (Zechariah 13:9).

Heavenly Father, thank you that your Word is pure and true and that your promises are like purified silver — of the very highest quality and value. Thank you for teaching me things through your Scriptures. Today’s gospel chapter has some disturbing ideas. I pray that your Holy Spirit will give me understanding. Help me also to understand what you mean when you say that you desire mercy, not sacrifice. I pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.